As is well known in the art, golf is a game that is played on a golf course which includes nine or eighteen holes. Each hole includes a tee-off location, a fairway and a green, with the tee-off location being situated some distance from the green. A cup (a depression in the ground) is located somewhere on the green and is marked by a flag so that the golfer has a visual aid at which to aim during play. The golfer positions his or her ball at the tee-off location on a particular hole and strikes the ball with the head of one of a group of clubs to move the ball through the air to some distance down the fairway. The fairway is of a sufficient length to require the golfer to strike the ball one or more times to move the ball from the tee-off location to the remote green. Once at the green, the golfer selects a putter (a specially designed club) to strike the ball so that it rolls across the surface of the green toward the cup and drops into the same. Depending on the skill of the golfer, the putter may need to be used more than once to sink the ball in the cup. Each strike of the ball with a club or with a putter is counted as a single stroke. Each hole on the golf course is rated so that the golfer will know a desired number of strokes to play for that particular hole. Scoring is based on how many strokes it takes the golfer to get the golf ball from the tee-off location to the point he or she sinks the ball in the cup. Thus, a hole is a par-three (three strokes), par-four (four strokes) or par-five (five strokes). The fairway will typically include one or more obstacles such as sand-traps or water hazards to increase the difficulty of play. Penalties can be accrued on a hole if a golfer makes a miss-step during play.
Golfers are required to play in accordance with a standard set of procedures and rules. The rules are dependent upon the country in which the game is played with the majority of the world playing in accordance with the rules set out by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland. In the United States golfers have to adhere to rules administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA).
While there are a vast number of golfers in the world it has become apparent over recent years that fewer younger people are taking part in this well-loved sport. The reasons for this are not entirely clear but several studies have suggested that the game is too slow for the younger generation, requires too much time, skill, and effort, and is too costly from the point of view of equipment needed, lessons that have to be taken, as well as for the play of a single round of the game. Because of this situation, golf courses, particularly at the local level, are struggling to stay afloat financially.
In addition to this situation, there is growing evidence that younger people are not as active as they should or could be and this lack of activity is posing a serious risk to their long-term health.
There is therefore a need in the art for a game that encourages younger people to become more active, is fun, quick to learn and relatively inexpensive to play.